Why won't people believe my diagnosis?

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I just went to the doctor to give him my diagnosis report saying I have AS. He said 'what, for you?', I said yes and he said 'do you really think you have it?' .

He sounded so doubtful that I could have AS and that really upset me. I've only seen him twice so he doesn't know me well so I dont see how he has the right to judge me.

Does anyone else have problems like this. I don't know how to deal with it.

Thanks, Kerry

Yes, very few people have beleived that I have aspergers. When people say to me that I dont have it I now reply "oh, you would see it if you lived with me" or I dont tell them and just say I have social anxiety or poor social skills.

My bf said to me that people may be thinking they are being polite rather than dismissive in the same way people might say "your not fat" when one claims to be fat.

My social worker says not to feel bad about it but to feel that it is a complement to the way I can compensate for my difficulties.

I wouldnt mind so much if people thought I was normal but they tend to think that Im just rude and crazy rather than aspergers lol.

This is what happens to me...people say things like "no way you have it" and then these same people get made at me for being "abrupt" or "rigid" or make fun of my strange facial expressions etc. Some people have denied it when they first met me and then after knowing me for a little while say to me something along the lines of "you know, maybe you are autistic"…usually after I do something particularly strange!

Yes, I've had many people, including doctors, be skeptical of my diagnosis. It bugs me, because, like you said, they're judging on what they're seeing. They don't KNOW me. They don't realize that I can put on a fake social face for limited periods of time. It's annoying, because you feel like you have to prove to them that you're an Aspie, and then you doubt that you are one, even though the diagnosis is 100% correct. This is the downside to how AS is a "hidden disability," unfortunately.

My therapist doesn't believe I have it. He's the one who sent me for a day of testing to a neuropsychologist. The neuropsychologist lays out this long detailed report with a recommended diagnosis for Asperger's Syndrome and General Anxiety and my therapist just says "I work with kids who have that every day and I just don't see it in you, you have some "aspergery" traits but the way you carry yourself...I'd just never think you had that."

I think some people just can't comprehend the idea that someone who is as smart or smarter than themselves could have autism. Most people have no trouble believing I have it cuz I act ret*d as in I talk with a loud, monotonous, low pitched voice, I'm clumbsy and I never spot social cues but if I talk to them about something that requires a certain degree of intelligence then they see that I'm not ret*d and they start questioning whether I have mild autism or not. Its basically just a misunderstanding of what high functioning autism actually is. They have the idea that its a mental disability as opposed to our brains being wired differently. Its no mystery, people that don't have autism or aren't directly affected by someone with it aren't going to go out of their way to research the matter and find out what it is because they have no reason to. My mother researched it after I got diagnosed and she says all the pieces of the puzzle suddenly fell into place for her when she found out what it is cuz it explains why I am the way I am. You're doctor most likely just isn't very well informed about autism or aspergers. Every psychiatrist and psychologist I've been to spotted it pretty rapidly and before I was diagnosed I thought they were lunatics for suggesting I get tested for autism cuz every autistic person I knew was completely mute and I didn't know what high functioning autism was.

Yes but this is generally by people who have never met an adult with AS or have little knowledge of AS in general. When I was a child, it was reversed. People would ask if there was something "wrong" with me even if my parents never said anything.

People also have a hard time believing me when I tell them.

People don't believe me until I start talking more.

That does happen to me as well. For some reason people would rather believe I'm being rude or unsocial. I've even been told that I'm just making up excuses for my bad behavior, selfishness and laziness. I find this strange that some people would say that they can't understand me but when I try to explain this to them they totally dismiss it

So it has obviously never occurred to him that as a kid with Asperger's grows up he learns how to get along, blend in, hide his strangeness, adapt as best as he is able. Seriously, all people with Asperger's remain static and unchanging unlike the rest of the population that grows up and matures and learns and adapts?

VERY ignorant, narrow perspective. You have my permission to tell him I said so!

Well, it's funny, but in recent years I ran into a couple of nasty characters (basically bullies) from my past, and told them "you know something? I never told you this, but I have Aspergers, which is like mild autism; it's like having dyslexia when trying to read between the lines with people" (because neither of them knew what Aspergers was.) The response was the same in both cases: "Really?? I didn't think that at all, you seem like a very bright guy, you have a few quirks, but who doesn't?"

I knew instinctively that they were lying - they were just being street-smart by not revealing their motive to bully me, and they probably wanted to keep me ignorant. But I knew they were the ignorant ones.

Likewise, when I first disclosed my diagnosis to those who I am (still) friends with, they acknowledged that it fit my description, they were completely honest about it & didn't try to pretend they had no clue.

Kind of an ironic juxtaposition, huh?

I think that a lot of people, even people who should know better, get caught up in the idea that psychological disorders are all or nothing. If you don't have a severe case, then you don't have it at all. It's just there way of not dealing with it. So, if you don't look like a stereotypical aspie, then they think that you can't be one.

Really, I think that the world would be a better place if people were more aware of the effect that biology has on personality. We all start out a little differently. We are not all the same. Even people with a particular disorder are all different.

I agree with Chronos, when I was a child my relatives were always saying "What wrong with her?" and now nobody wants to believe and now my son is being diagnosed they think I must be making it all up. However there is nothing I can do and I don't have the energy to even start to convince them. I think for a medical doctor or counselor to make comments or not believe your disgnosis means they don't have experience. It may be worth drawing their attention to this the next time...

I know from the statistics more people are getting diagnosed but it makes me wonder at times how that is happening given the responses and lack of understanding?

No. I don't tell people about it.

QUOTE:

I agree 100% with the person who posted that. And you know what? It's a really ironic perspective coming from the NT populace, because they are the ones who claim that us Aspies are the ones who perceive things in black-and-white!! Yet I find this black-and-white thinking permeates the NT perception of us, and poses a disincentive to us improving - I've lost track of the number of times I had somebody tell me "You seem to be acting in a forced way, just let [interaction X] come naturally to you." Well, I'd rather have that "grey area" response, then somebody telling me that my response to a situation was inappropriate.

I've been to foreign countries, learned something of the local customs and language, and got along great with the people, socializing very well. You know why? Because they appreciated the fact that I was trying, I was afforded that "grey area". But it's rare that I get that treatment from NT's where they appreciate my efforts to fit in, they just see it as "trying too hard", by their standards either I interact with them "naturally" or not at all. Totally unfair!! !